The invention relates to the field of operational resource management.
In many industrial and computerized systems, broadcast-response networks are used to communicate information between nodes or devices of the network, such as between a central device and peripheral devices. One node may broadcast an electronic communication, and receive from at least some of the other nodes a response. As a result of the response, the broadcaster may issue a counter-response, such as sending a maintenance crew to repair a faulty sensor, sending requested data, sending an acknowledgment, replying to an email, and the like
For example, maintenance tasks are collected during the day in a factory, and at night a maintenance manager will review the tasks, prioritize based on the resources, and dispatch maintenance personnel to perform the tasks based on the prioritization. This example may be performed using a push (peripheral device initiated) or pull (central broadcaster initiated) technique. For example, a manager may broadcast a message to the factory workers to report maintenance needs, and receive response form the factory workers.
For example, a politician receives a large number of emails every day, optionally in response to a news article, a blog post, or the like, and assigns assistants to send email replies. For example, a user sends a post to a social network, receives a large number of responses, such as comments and/or reactions, to the post, and sends a counter-response to some of the responses, such as comments and/or reactions.
For example, a vehicle central processor sends a broadcast for information from peripheral devices of the vehicle using the controller area network bus (CAN-bus), and the peripheral devices (such as electronic control units—ECUs) send the information periodically until an acknowledgement is received.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the figures.